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ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- For the New England Patriots, a come-from-behind, 52-28 domination of the Buffalo Bills was memorable for as long as it took to load the team bus.

Up next for the Patriots: The Denver Broncos, which means it's Tom Brady vs. Peyton Manning week. Get ready for endless comparisons between the two passers and some healthy debate over the title, "Greatest of all time."

After their rout here, Patriots coach Bill Belichick said his attention would soon shift to the visiting Broncos.

How soon?

"In about 20 minutes."

It took less than that for the Patriots to dismantle Buffalo. After falling behind 21-7 in the third quarter, the Patriots (2-2) scored five unanswered touchdowns in a 12-minute span during the third and fourth quarters to avoid their first three-game losing streak since 2002, the last season in which the Patriots failed to win 10 games.

After managing 90 and 77 rushing yards in losses to Arizona and Baltimore, the Patriots gashed Buffalo for 247 yards and four touchdowns.

"We were a little disappointed in our running production the last couple games, and we really made a big emphasis this game," Belichick said. "We worked hard on it in practice and we were able to have some good results today. You can't say enough about the offensive line, though. These guys have a good front and we were able to block them." Amid the Patriots' second-half surge, Brady frantically searched for his helmet following a change of possession. He found it in time, but he might not have needed it: The Bills managed one sack all game, and New England gained 6.2 yards a carry. Brady even ran one in, scrambling to his left in what seemed like slow motion, falling into the end zone after four yards to tie the score at 21 with less than four minutes left in the third quarter.

Then New England scored on all five of its fourth-quarter possessions.

The Patriots became the second team in NFL history to have two 100-yard rushers (Brandon Bolden, 137, Stevan Ridley, 106) and two 100-yard receivers (Wes Welker, 129, Rob Gronkowski, 104) in the same game. Green Bay did it first in 2008.

"The game kind of got out of hand there in the end," Belichick said. "But it was a lot more competitive than the final score would indicate."

Added Brady, who finished with 340 yards passing and three touchdowns: "We were down on the road, our backs were against the wall,and I thought we showed a lot of heart. That's what this team is made of."

Said Gronkowski, "You can't panic. When you panic, nothing good happens from there. We just stuck to the game plan."

It did not hurt they were playing against the Bills. This was just the kind of game they needed to avoid going 1-3. In their last 18 meetings with Buffalo, New England is 17-1.

One reason for that success is the play of Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. Counting the four interceptions he threw on Sunday, Fitzpatrick has now thrown 15 picks in five games vs. the Patriots dating to 2010.

The Patriots can't reasonably expect Manning to have the same kind of day. He has passed for 4,391 career yards vs. New England with 36 touchdowns and 23 interceptions.

"He's a great football player and he's been doing it for a long time," said Patriots linebacker Rob Ninkovich. "We're going to try to make him uncomfortable. They best thing you can do when you're playing Peyton Manning is pressuring him, so we'll try to get after him."

With the New York Jets' loss to San Francisco, the Patriots are now tied atop the AFC East at 2-2. On their remaining schedule, New England faces just three playoff teams from a year ago, beginning with the Broncos.